symposium
noun
Did you know?
When you hear the word symposium, you may—quite understandably—envision conferences full of intellectuals giving heady presentations on various arcana. But it was drinking, more than thinking, that drew people to the original symposia and gave us the word. Symposium (symposia or symposiums in plural form) comes from the Greek noun symposion, the word ancient Greeks used for a drinking party that follows a banquet. Symposion in turn comes from sympinein, a verb that combines pinein, meaning “to drink,” with the prefix syn-, meaning “together.” Originally, English speakers only used symposium to refer to such an ancient Greek party, but in the 18th century British gentlemen’s clubs started using the word for confabs in which conversation was fueled by drinking. By the end of the 18th century, symposium had gained the more sober sense we know today, referring to meetings in which the focus is more on imbibing ideas and less on imbibing, say, mead.
Examples of symposium in a Sentence
Anthony Demarco, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
The question of how to meet the world’s growing power needs took center stage as chief executives of the world’s biggest uranium and nuclear energy firms, experts and investors gathered for the annual World Nuclear Association (WNA) symposium at the Royal Lancaster London hotel last week.
—April Roach, CNBC, 8 Sep. 2025
The symposium, like all good ones, had its moments optimized for fun and connection.
—Essence, 8 Sep. 2025
The Born to Run symposium comes during a heightened period of legacy-building for Springsteen in advance of next month’s Bruce biopic, Deliver Me From Nowhere.
—Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 7 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for symposium
Cite this Entry
“Symposium.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/symposium. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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symposium
noun
from earlier symposium "a social gathering at which there is a free exchange of ideas," from Latin symposium "a party with much drinking and conversation," derived from Greek sympinein "to drink together," from syn- "together with" and pinein "to drink" — related to synonymous
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